OCHA Situation Report
Ethiopia
5 December 2003


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Joint Government/UN team reports concern in Warder, Korahe and Degehabur
zones of Somali region

A joint rapid assessment was completed by three teams comprised of
government and UN representatives in zones of the Somali Region that are
affected by the failure of the short rains normally expected from October
to December. The situation is particularly severe in Warder, Korahe and
Degehabur zones. The main problems relate to the lack of water for
livestock and human consumption as well as serious malnutrition in certain
areas. There has also been large movements of population intra and inter
regional with an estimated 50,000 people crossing the border from Puntland
and Somaliland seeking water for livestock. Additional assessments are
being undertaken by OFDA/USAID and ACF. In the three most affected areas,
urgent humanitarian response is required. Full reports will be available
by next week.

Partnership meeting for the New Coalition for Food Security held

A Partnership Event on the "Coalition for Livelihood and Food Security in
Ethiopia" was held 1-2 December during the annual World Bank Consultative
Group meeting. WFP's Deputy Executive Director, Mr Graisse, attended the
meeting. From the Partnership Event deliberations, a broad consensus was
reached, firstly in supporting many of the directions included in the
coalition proposal, secondly in acknowledging strong government leadership
and ownership of the process, and thirdly on the need to further
strengthen the dialogue between the government and all concerned and
committed stakeholders, including the NGOs, the private sector and civil
societies. Specifically, consensus was reached on the urgent need to
embark into next steps related to implementation and dialogue. This is
particularly in the key areas of a) designing safety nets carefully linked
to the transition required to protect lives and assist the most
vulnerable, b) capacity building and institutional arrangements, c)
identification of activities and programmes that can scale-up, d) social
mobilization mechanisms and e)the fine tuning of monitoring and evaluation
system for tracking results and changes. The meeting ended with a call for
quick action to begin implementation of medium to longer-term initiatives
addressing chronic food insecurity and for an appropriate transition with
humanitarian programmes planned for 2004.

Food Prospects for 2004 reported to be relatively good in most parts of
the country

WFP reports the prospects for 2004, in comparison with the food emergency
in 2003, are relatively good following a near-normal main rainfall (meher)
season (June-September) in most parts of the country. Humanitarian
requirements are expected to be reduced significantly, though will still
be substantial. Part of the population requires assistance to meet minimum
food needs due to the combination of structural difficulties and localized
problems (such as climate, pests, disease), as well as depressed coffee
prices. The "2004 Humanitarian Appeal for Ethiopia" is being prepared by
representatives from government ministries, United Nations Agencies,
donors and NGOs and will be launched on 10 December.

UNICEF Supports Great Ethiopian Run For HIV/AIDS Prevention

UNICEF Ethiopia sponsored more than 2,000 young runners in Sunday's Great
Ethiopian Run. Adolescents and youth are the most affected by the HIV/AIDS
epidemic in Ethiopia. There are an estimated 2.2 million people infected
with the virus in the country, and half of all new infections now occur
among young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years. UNICEF sponsorship
allowed 1,500 young runners in Addis Ababa and an additional 500
regionally to participate free-of-charge in the race, the largest road
race in Africa. UNICEF supported the Great Ethiopian Run as a means of
reaching Ethiopian young people to promote HIV/AIDS prevention.

Pan-African Conference on Water Begins

The Pan-African Implementation and Partnership Conference (PANAFCON) on
Water begins Monday, 8 December at the ECA. The African Water Ministers,
supported by UN Water Africa, including UNICEF, UNDP and others, have
called for the weeklong conference, which represents a political
commitment at the highest level among African Governments to move forward
in solving the continent's impending water crisis. Leaders of African
nations, the international community and UN agencies are gathering to
address how to collectively implement the actions envisaged in the African
Water Vision 2025, the NEPAD water agenda, the World Summit on Sustainable
Development water targets and the Millennium Development Goals on water.

For more information contact UN OCHA - Ethiopia 44 44 14/44 41 22


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